Brassington’s many contentious roles make him inappropriate for Amaila – Granger
A Partnership for National Unity leader, David Granger, said that the Opposition does not believe Winston Brassington is an appropriate manager for the development of hydro power in Guyana given his involvement in numerous contentious projects.
Granger cited the Marriott Hotel under construction in Kingston, the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), his handling of the affairs of the Guyana Power and Light as well as the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
Granger also said that the administration is devoid of a comprehensive development plan for the nation.
Winston Brassington
He said that at present the administration is pursuing a number of projects that the nation has not asked for, leading the opposition to believe the President to be a puppet with someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The opposition leader reiterated that this is among the many reasons why the opposition was pushing for comprehensive package to be taken to the Parliament and it must contain all aspects of the project including the financial architecture, the plant, the transmission and the management of GPL, as well as the tariff that consumers will have to pay.
Granger recalled that during the 1970s when the People’s National Congress (PNC) had attempted to develop hydro power in Upper Mazaruni, it had created a separate ‘Authority’ to pursue the project. Similarly, he said that the opposition had been urging government to create a ‘Potaro Basin Development Authority’ to pursue the Amaila Project.
“Literally a corporation has to be created,” said Granger.
This body, he said, would then have to be staffed with the requisite managers and experts such as environmentalists, “people who can provide the type of service to make such a corporation work…I do not know why we didn’t go that way but the ad hockery is what is responsible for some of the suspicion because everything seems to be just word of mouth.”
Granger concluded that “if we had this document before the National Assembly I think we would not have been going through this agony at present…I don’t know the reason why it wasn’t presented in that form.”
Granger also emphasised that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at the end of the day is a bank interested in its returns. He was at the time responding to the fact that the IDB was asking for a higher rate of return that that of the Chinese Exim Bank for its investment in the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project.
An application was made to the IDB for US$100M to be invested in the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project and it had been asking for a 9.5 per cent rate of return while the Chinese Exim Bank had requested 8.5 per cent for its US$500M.
Granger said that in the confidential briefings that the party would have had with the President and Winston Brassington on the project, there was no mention of the rate of return for the IDB.
The Opposition leader further criticized the administration for not having a dedicated managerial infrastructure dedicated to the development of hydro power in Guyana.